Hunt in the BoB. Part XII. Don't hunt elk with

[spectr17]

Tim Renken Of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

09/08/2002

This is the 12th in a series that will appear every other Sunday about a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt my son and I will make, our Big Deal Hunt.


Most people going elk hunting for the first time carry the guns they use for deer.

That may or may not be a good idea, according to the literature. An elk weighs 3-5 times as much as a deer and has a far thicker hide. Its bones are heavy and hard to break. Beyond that, mountain elk are notorious for their ability to keep going after hits that eventually are fatal.

The legendary Col. Townsend Whelen, whose opinions are almost canon law among big game hunters, wrote that an elk rifle should deliver a minimum of 1,500 foot-pounds of energy at the target. In the mountains, shots of 200 yards are common and 300 yards not uncommon.

Most hunters find ballistics boring, but what these figures mean is that many popular deer rifles aren't good mountain elk weapons.

The 30-30 rifle, for example, doesn't deliver enough energy at mountain ranges and its looping trajectory makes even 100-yard shots iffy. The .44 magnum is even slower and weaker.

Most experts regard even the .270 as too weak for elk. The recommended minimum, then, would be the .280 and that's probably marginal.

In this consideration, though, it should be remembered that people regularly bag elk with bows, handguns and blackpowder rifles.

All the experts say that the hunter must know and accept the limits of the weapon he or she chooses. The hunter who takes shots beyond his or her skill and the capabilities of the weapon risk wounding an elk and then losing it. That's the very worst thing that can happen, much worse than not even seeing something.

Here is what our outfitter, Fred Haney, of Spotted Bear Ranch, Kalispell, Mont. wrote when I asked him if he thought our 30.06 rifles would be adequate.

"The 30-06 is a fine elk rifle and has taken many large elk, possibly more than any other caliber. The .300 Winchester Magnum, the .338 Win Mag and the new 'Ultra Mag's' are considered 'better' elk rifles due to their excellent downrange energy. They would be preferred, but . . .

"If you can get your hands on a more powerful rifle AND practice and get comfortable with it before you go on your hunt, then by all means do so. If you could get your hands on a .338 that is in good condition, accurate and you're comfortable with it, I'd say go with it over the 30-06.

"I think most experienced elk hunters will agree that a 180-grain or larger bullet moving at greater than 2,000 fps is sufficient when properly placed. Be sure to choose a 'premium' bullet (such as Nosler Partition) of at least 180 grains and practice with it prior to your hunt.

"Bullet placement is more crucial than sheer knockdown power once you choose an adequate caliber. If you can confidently and consistently place a 30-06 bullet on a pie plate at 200 yards you'll be in good shape for any North American game except grizzly."

Next: What if we bag something?

Reporter Tim Renken\ E-mail: trenken@post-dispatch.com\ Phone: 314-849-4239

 

[waksupi]

It's interesting to see peoples concepts of hunting in other areas. I live in N.W.Montana, and the Great Bear Wilderness is the area I hunt most, and adjoining wilderness and primitive areas.
Most of the elk we have killed in the area have been at relatively short range, and I imagine more have been killed by .30-06 than any other caliber, using 180 gr. bullets. Much of the country is so thick, a thirty yard shot is long. Shooting across a canyon is something you seldom do here. IF you can see the animal through the brush across the canyon, you may have trouble locating the spot after the shot without someone to help by staying where you shot from and giving directions. Even on horse back, it can take a long time to cross the canyons.
We have two places up there that are pretty much a guaranteed elk. We never hunt those particular areas. Too nasty. Last bull we killed there, took three days to move four hundred yards through the buck brush and canyons. No bueno caca.

 

[340mag]

well I can only go on my personal experiances but heres what I found,the first elk I shot was with a 200grain speer bullet at about 130 yards with a 30-06 he turned and ran at the shot but fell within 30 yards (both heart and lungs were hit) the rifle proved effective but there was no exit wound yet a single shot did drop the elk quickly, the next year I used a 35 whelen the shot was at about 180 yards , the 250 grain speer bullet hit high in the lungs over the heart, the elk staggered and tried to run but only went about 20 yards, there was a nice exit wound.that 35 whelen has been the camp spare rifle for years now and has always performed well, while I was very impressed with the 35 whelen I was given a 340 wby the next xmas by the wife, for several years every elk and deer dropped on the spot, all shots were between 75-230 yards , I have also used a 300wby with equally good results but the 250 grain 340wby mag combo has proven at least for me to be ideal in that it leaves a large exit wound and seems to seriously impress all the elk hit with it, dropping most within 10 yards, strangely its effect on mule deer is less dramatic as the bullets don,t seem to open as fast and zip through, killing the deer in short order but not dropping them nearly as quickly as the 300wby and 200 grain speer load does. now my partners have over the years used several differant rifles and calibers but what we are finding is the all 30-06 cal rifles-> mags work well but the over 30 cal mags and even non mags seem at least in the area (heavy timber) and at the ranges (50-250 yards) we hunt to leave better exit wounds. all of the guys (5-6 most years in my elk camp) now are useing at least a 30-06 and 200 grain bullets but most have gone to 35 whelens or 338 win mags as the area is very thick and we all like exit wounds to insure a good blood trail should we need to trail elk with a badly placed shot, (so far in 33 years this has been very rare due to the relatively close ranges and very effective rifles used) the 338 win is now the most common rifle in camp and everyone likes the caliber (most load 225 hornady bullets BTW) while this is far too small a sample of elk and deer killed to be statistically important or proof of anything I and all the guys I hunt with now prefer the 30-06 sprngfld up to the ->340 wby on elk, just because the results we see useing those 30 cal and over rifles, they work very well compared to the lighter caliber rifles we see some of the other hunters useing and the results they seem to be having (we have helped trail wounded game shot by other camps several years) . keep in mind shot placement is more important that the cartridge your useing , but having alot of faith in your rifle doing its job with a single shot is a big plus too.